Outschool
Search

$9

weekly
or $45 for all content
Class

The Great Gatsby Book Club

Completed by 9 learners
Ages 13-18
Self-Paced Course
In this 5-week book club, students will read and discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic The Great Gatsby
Average rating:
4.6
Number of reviews:
(905 reviews)
Star Educator

5 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content

Enroll Now, Start Anytime

Go at your own pace
Your learner can start learning when they want and progress at the speed that works best for them.
Start when you want.
Learn at your own pace
Access course material for a full year.
Get hands-on support from teacher.

What's included

5 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks
of teacher support
1 year access
to the content
Homework
1-2 hours per week. Students will read approximately 30-40 pages a week on their own time. Each lesson, students will have access to the new video and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom. There are also review activities like vocabulary words and an optional trivia quiz to test their comprehension from the weekly chapters.
Assessment
The more questions, comments, and posts that students share in the classroom, the more I can understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.
Grading
Please let me know if you would like a grade for this course.

Class Experience

US Grade 8 - 11
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a decadent tale of love, wealth, and betrayal. This classic American novel is required reading for a lot of high school students. It is the perfect book for group discussion and analysis because Fitzgerald's use of language and symbolism can be hard to appreciate and understand when reading alone.  

Students will read approximately 30-40 pages a week on their own time. Each lesson a new video will discuss the pages that the students have previously read. This class does not meet live. The prerecorded sessions will emphasize characters, their motivations, theme, story plausibility, and inferences about what might come next. We will also refer to any symbolism within the story and discuss what the author intended to represent with those symbols.

Each lesson, students will have access to a video that covers the important elements of the week's reading and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. The worksheets will also address/remind the students of some of the important topics from each chapter. I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom. I also ask students to submit any vocabulary words the students didn't recognize or passages the students did not understand. The more questions the students ask, the more "discussion" we can have in the classroom after each chapter. 

Lesson breakdown:
Students will receive a worksheet and discussion questions for each weekly video. There is one weekly writing assignment to complete after the weekly readings. 

I will post a vocabulary word from the weekly reading for the students to use in a sentence that showcases their understanding of the definition.  

I also post a link to an optional Gatsby-themed Kahoot! trivia review quiz that the students can complete to further immerse themselves in this world.

Learning Goals

Week One Chapters 1-2
Week Two Chapters 3-4
Week Three Chapters 5-6
Week Four Chapter 7
Week Five Chapters 8-9

Each video will discuss the assigned chapters to help students understand the information they have read. The prerecorded sessions will emphasize characters, their motivations, theme, story plausibility, and inferences about what might come next. We will also refer to any symbolism within the story and discuss what the author intended to represent with those symbols. Students will have opportunities to discuss their own thoughts through a worksheet and writing assignment. Vocabulary words and a Kahoot! review quiz will further immerse the students in the world and test their overall comprehension.

Syllabus

5 Lessons
over 5 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Chapters 1-2
 Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz 
3 assignments
Lesson 2:
Chapters 3-4
 Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz 
3 assignments
Lesson 3:
Chapters 5-6
 Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz 
3 assignments
Lesson 4:
Chapter 7
 Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz 
3 assignments

Other Details

Parental Guidance
From Commonsensemedia.org: The Great Gatsby is a romantic yet cynical novel about the wealth and habits of a group of New Yorkers during the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald pains a grim portrait of shallow characters who maneuver themselves into complex situations. This classic American novel is required reading for a lot of high school students, and it can be appreciated and understood on some levels by teenagers. However, Fitzgerald's use of language and symbolism is best appreciated by mature readers able to analyze literature and think critically. Parents also need to know that some characters express racial and religious prejudice.
Supply List
The students will need a copy of The Great Gatsby to read on their own. It can be borrowed from the library or even listened to as an audio book. The students will not need a physical copy of the story in class, although they may find it helpful to have while filling out their worksheets or working on their writing assignment.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:

Meet the teacher

Joined June, 2019
4.6
905reviews
Star Educator
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Spalding University
I have a Master's Degree in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. I was a substitute teacher for three years before teaching full-time on Outschool. I currently teach English Composition at my local nursing college. I have been blessed to discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald in the classroom multiple times, including my own high school reading experience! I vividly remember by high school English teacher ranting about Fitzgerald's descriptions of East and West Egg and writing a lot of essays on his use of symbolism! (The billboard with the eyes will forever haunt me!) I reread this book as an adult and have watched the DiCaprio movie. I learn something new every time I am exposed to this story. It is an excellent book to discuss because there are so many lies, half-truths, and cover ups to analyze. I am excited to read it alongside your student to see what emotions and feelings Fitzgerald's images and descriptions stir up for them.

Reviews

Janelle Fila suggests this class next...
George Orwell's 1984 Book Club
Janelle Fila
4.6
(905)
$7 per week
Self-Paced Class
6 weeks
16-18


Parents also liked
Book Club: Flora & Ulysses by Kate Dicamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 1:45 AM on Sat 2/22
Group Class
5 wks, 1/wk, 40 min
8-12
American Girl BOOK CLUB
Kristi Rodenbeck
4.9
(481)
$13 per class
Next session at 1 AM on Thursday
Group Class
1/wk, 30 min
8-13
Book Club: The Magician's Elephant by Kate Dicamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 2 AM on Monday
Group Class
1 wk, 5/wk, 40 min
8-12
Book Club: The Tiger Rising by Kate Dicamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 3 AM on Mon 2/24
Group Class
1 wk, 5/wk, 40 min
9-12
Book Club: The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate Dicamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$14 per class
Next session at 2 AM on Mon 2/24
Group Class
1 wk, 3/wk, 40 min
7-10
Book Club: The Tiger Rising by Kate Dicamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 3 AM on Sat 2/22
Group Class
5 wks, 1/wk, 40 min
8-12
Book Club: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 7 PM on Thu 3/6
Group Class
5 wks, 1/wk, 45 min
7-10
Book Club: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate Dicamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 3 AM on Monday
Group Class
1 wk, 5/wk, 40 min
8-12
Bookworms: A Book Club for Middle Schoolers
Dr. Sharon BC
5.0
(126)
$30 per class
Next session at 3 PM on Tuesday
Group Class
1/wk, 45 min
10-14
Book Club: Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 4 AM on Monday
Group Class
1 wk, 5/wk, 40 min
9-12
Women of the Classics - Book Club
Laura McVay B.A., M.A.
4.5
(12)
$22 per class
Next session at 1 AM on Tuesday
Group Class
1/wk, 45 min
14-18
Book Club: Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo
Tristan - Book Clubs/Reading Comprehension
5.0
(412)
$12 per class
Next session at 4 AM on Mon 2/24
Group Class
1 wk, 5/wk, 40 min
10-13
Magic Tree House Book Club
Jordan Hayes
4.8
(18)
$12 per class
Next session at 2:15 PM on Monday
Group Class
1/wk, 45 min
6-9
Book Club: Wings of Fire
Orchard Academy
4.8
(822)
$11 per class
Next session at 2 PM on Tuesday
Group Class
1/wk, 30 min
8-12
Classics for Kids Book Club!
Outschool Educator Jennifer Hall
4.9
(269)
$29 per class
Next session at 2 PM on Mon 6/2
Group Class
1/wk, 50 min
8-13
Middle Grade Fiction Book Club
Kayla Grose
4.9
(15)
$8 per class
Next session at 11 PM on Wed 3/12
Group Class
1/wk, 30 min
9-12
See More Classes
Home
Search
Give a Gift Card
Open currency, time zone, and language settings
Language & Region
Log In